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Kathy Goodman: Lisa Leslie always strived to improve

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It was exactly the kind of game I love at this time of the season, the kind I begged Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton for in San Antonio — a game where we build up a comfortable lead and we all just sit back for a couple of quarters confident in the team’s victory. The Sparks beat the Minnesota Lynx Friday night by a score of 90-61, thereby securing our third-place ranking going into the postseason, and except for a brief moment late in the second quarter, when the Lynx got within 2, the outcome of the game was never in doubt. Candace Parker scored her 14th double-double of the season, Noelle Quinn tied her season-high assist record of nine, Tina Thompson shot 54% from the field,scoring 19 points. And Lisa Leslie shot a blistering 69% from the field, tying Tina for a game-high 19 points, and adding six rebounds, two blocks and two assists.

It wasn’t so much about the game as it was watching Lisa do what she does so incredibly well and has done so incredibly well for 13 years. It was her last regular season game at Staples Center and it gave us a chance to thank Lisa for everything she has done for basketball and then just to sit back and watch her play.

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I remember Lisa as part of that magic 1996 USA team that won gold at the Atlanta Olympics, making the WNBA possible. That team was not just undefeated; they were a group of women who banded together to achieve a common goal and became dominating, unstoppable, victorious. Everyone knows Leslie went on to win three more gold medals — the only team athlete to win four consecutive Olympic gold medals — but less well known is that she also has never lost a single game in Olympic play.

The first time I met Lisa Leslie was actually in a Baja Fresh in Beverly Hills in 2000. I was working in the film business at the time, and had met my share of celebrities and may have been a little jaded. Nevertheless, when Lisa walked in while I was having a quick lunch, I turned to the person I was eating with and said, “Oh my god, that’s Lisa Leslie. I have to meet her.” I summoned up all my courage and wandered over to where she was also trying to have a quick lunch and said, “I’m sorry to bother you. I just wanted to introduce myself — I’m a Sparks season ticket holder and I wanted to wish you good luck at the Olympics later this year.” She smiled and thanked me and I left. I couldn’t even imagine then that six years later I would co-own the team she played for throughout her entire WNBA career.

The most impressive thing to me about Lisa is that every year, she has become a better basketball player. She has never just rested on her talent, content to do what she could do, waiting for everyone to catch up to her. She always expanded her game. Back in 1997 and 1998, she had that spin move in the paint down pat — she would push back against her defender to get a sense of which way she should go and then Bam! she was suddenly twirling toward the basket, unstoppable. As the years went on,though,her repertoire grew. First, she became adept at splitting double-teaming defenders. Then, she learned to be one of the most proficient passers out of a double (or triple) team. She expanded her game from the block to include a reliable mid-range jumper and ultimately became a three-point threat. And, boy, did Lisa like to block the ball. My enduring memory of Lisa may always be the moment after she has stuffed the ball back on some unsuspecting shooter, when she takes a step forward, pumps her fist and yells, “Get out of here!” in the same direction that the ball went flying.

Lisa could be a work of art on the floor — she had a fluidity of movement and an intensity to her game that made it almost impossible to look at anyone but her when she was on the floor. She would flash out on the block demanding the ball and then push past her defender for two points. She would trail on the break to receive the ball at the top of the key and drain the three. She could get the ball on the wing and back her defender down until that player knew the only hope she had of keeping Lisa from scoring was fouling — hard and fast — and that more often than not would just allow Lisa a chance to add to her made baskets with a much less heavily contested free throw.

We still have a little time left to see Lisa in action—our final regular season game on Sunday in Phoenix will be televised on ESPN2 and we locked up our playoff spot tonight and will be playing Seattle Wednesday night at Staples Center. But as I watched Lisa tonight pile up the points in the paint or block what looked to be an uncontestable layup, I felt incredibly lucky to have found myself in a place and time where I could enjoy Lisa’s entire career in the WNBA. The Sparks organization, the WNBA, USA Basketball and the fans of women’s basketball owe a debt of gratitude to Lisa for taking the game seriously and making it all that much more exciting to watch.

-- Kathy Goodman,co-owner of the Sparks

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